Rumpelstiltskin's Power
by KaylaDestroyer
Summary: Magic has been released into the real world by the one who holds the most of it. Now that Rumpelstiltskin, Regina, and another have magic, the battle for supremacy and power over all intensifies, leading to sneaky tactics. When Belle falls ill by Regina's magical hand, Rumpelstiltskin will have to make a choice; accept her true love, or forsake it like before.


**So, hey! This is my first story in this archive, I just fell for RumBelle so hard! I have the second chapter started but not quite finished, plus I have once story in the Ice Age Archives that I'm working on right now, so I might not update after this for a while. But I hope you enjoy this first chapter! Feel free to browse my Ice Age stories! No seriously, I'd greatly appreciate if you gave me some reviews. ;)**

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin's Power

Rumpelstiltskin smiled as the dark purple smoke poured from the wishing well. "I picked the best rainy day." he thought, holding Belle's hand tightly.

"Rumpel?" He turned his head at the soft sound of her voice. "What is all this?"

"Magic, dearie." he replied, turning back to the well as the smoke billowed higher and higher.

"You mean...your bringing some here?"

"Yes."

"Because...there is none."

"Yes."

"Why?" He turned back to her.

"Magic is power." They stared at each other silently for a while.

"And that's all you care about." Belle said quietly. Rumpelstiltskin frowned softly, bringing one hand up to caress her cheek.

"No. It's not the only thing I care about."

"Is it what matters most to you?" Bell whispered. Rumpelstiltskin stared at her, concentrating very hard on her beautiful eyes. He carefully combed his fingers through her dark hair, finding it a might tangled.

"I...I'm not sure." he replied truthfully. Sadness clouded Belle's eyes. He gripped her shoulders desperately. "But, but..I'll figure it out." Hope seemed to flicker in her eyes. "Until I do...stay._ Help_ me figure it out." She smiled softly at him.

"Alright." she replied softly. Rumpelstiltskin smiled, and brought his face close, kissing her forehead.

"I've missed you Belle."

"I've missed you too."

* * *

Emma looked out the window in bewilderment, stumped as to what all the purple smoke could possibly be. "What on _earth_ is that?" she muttered. Henry sat up and looked out the window as well, his eyes widening in awe.

"Magic." he replied. "Emma...you brought magic here!" Emma shook her head.

"No, no this is different. This_ isn't_ from me."

"Well, who else could bring magic to this world?" Emma suddenly ground her teeth in rage as it hit her.

"_Rumpelstiltskin_."

"But...how could_ he_ bring magic here?" Henry questioned confusedly.

"The potion."

"What potion?" Emma finally looked down at Henry. She then began disconnecting him from the mechanics and searching for his shirt.

"The true love potion, I'll tell you later, we have to_ go_." Once righted, the two dashed out of the hospital and into Emma's car, then sped off in the direction the smoke was coming from. It wasn't long before they reached the advancing wall that was covering the town.

"Uh, Emma? Are you sure we should do this?" Henry questioned nervously.

"Positive." Emma replied calmly. "We're in the car, so it can't hurt us." She gunned the engine and sped head-long into the purple cloud, a determined look on her face. All of a sudden Mary Margaret and David came into view, clutching each other in the middle of the road amidst the purple tinted atmosphere.

"Emma look out!" Henry shouted. She slammed her fist to the horn as she roughly applied the brakes, watching as they turned in surprise before jumping out of the way. At that point Emma switched her foot back to the gas and the car sped on, into the woods where the wishing well was. They stopped a few meters away from the frothing well, only to see that Rumpelstiltskin was already gone. Emma screamed and hit the steering wheel with her fist, causing the horn to give a short, quick burst of sound. She then leaned her elbow against the edge of the wheel and placed her temple in her palm.

"Now what?" she snapped to no one. They both thought in silence as the well frothed like a cauldron.

"He's probably gone to hide somewhere while he get's his power back." Henry said, causing Emma to turn and look at him.

"You mean like a...a haven? Where no one will find him?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Henry replied with a bright smile. Emma thought for a moment, then pursed her lips and stepped on the gas, turning the car around. "Where are we going?"

"To the one place where Rumpelstiltskin could possibly hide without any intrusion." Emma replied as they sped down the road back to Storybrooke.

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin led Belle inside his house gently by the hand. "Now dearie," he said cheerfully. "I have been given the task of protecting you." he continued as he came to the back wall of the kitchen. There was a keypad on the wall to the right of the fridge. He began to punch in a number code, saying, "And protect you I shall."

"You're locking me up?" Rumpelstiltskin turned to her with a chuckle.

"Of course not dearie. I'm locking everyone_ else_ out." Belle watched hesitantly as the fridge swung out to the left, revealing a door less elevator. Rumpelstiltskin gently urged her inside, punched another code in on the keypad, and then stepped inside himself. Belle stared at him perplexedly.

"You...you're coming with me?" Rumpelstiltskin smiled and took her hand in his once more.

"Of course. Who else will protect you from the queen?" he replied. Belle gave a soft smile that sent his heart fluttering. He opened his mouth to speak, but paused, considering his words. "Make yourself at home...Belle. Spruce it up just how you like it." Belle chuckled softly.

"I suppose I'm going back to my room?" she asked. Rumpelstiltskin squeezed her hand.

"No." he said quietly. "But you may borrow my room if you like." Belle tilted her head quizzically at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked as the elevator came to a halt. Rumpelstiltskin turned to look at where they had stopped.

"Take a look dearie." he replied softly. When Belle turned to the chamber, her eyes widened and she gasped.

* * *

Emma felt herself shake with rage and nervousness as they approached Rumpelstiltskin's estate. "So wait, what's this about a love potion?" Henry asked. Emma sighed.

"After you ate that apple turnover, Regina and I went to Rumpelstiltskin for help because he was the only other one in Storybrooke who had any magic left. He sent us to retrieve the love potion he had made which apparently had been swallowed by a dragon who used to be a friend of Regina..." Emma trailed off, suddenly wondering about the dragon she had slain.

"A love potion?"

"Yes."

"Was it true love?"

"Yeah."

"That's the most powerful magic of all!" Henry exclaimed, startling Emma. "No wonder he's able to bring magic into this world! What did he make it from?"

"Uh..I think strands of my parents hair." Henry nodded.

"They are pretty good candidates for that sort of thing. So what are we gonna' do?" Emma sighed.

"Oh I don't know. I was thinking 'storm in, demand to know what he's doing, stop him if it's evil', you know something along those lines."

"That won't be easy." Henry replied. "_Especially_ since he's got all his power back."

"Wait exactly how _much_ power does he have?" Emma asked nervously.

"Dude, Emma, he's the Dark One." Emma glanced at him nervously.

"The Dark One?"

"Yeah; he has the greatest amount of evil magic in the world, more than_ Regina_!" Emma let out a long sigh.

"Well, this is gonna' be fun." she muttered. Henry smiled.

"Totally." he agreed with all seriousness. Emma rolled her eyes.

"I swear kid you've gotta' learn sarcasm."

* * *

Belle gazed around in absolute awe, slowly wandering around the large main room. "It's...it's all here. Just like I remember. I waxed this table...I tended to that hearth...and I scrubbed _all_ those curtains!" she said with a smile, admiring the large room her master had once used to spin his gold. The elevator had taken them down to where two large doors used to open and admit a person inside the room from the hallway that lead to the kitchen, where Belle would always make Rumpelstiltskin's tea. The once master smiled as his love wandered around adoringly. She suddenly turned to him. "They're closed again." she said. He shrugged.

"Well, seeing as we're underground dearie, there's not much to see out past those windows." he replied. Belle frowned sadly, and glanced away.

"Oh." she said quietly. Rumpelstiltskin in turn frowned worriedly and hurriedly made his way to her, cane thumping gently on the floor.

"Is there...a problem, dearie?" Belle looked up at him shyly.

"Well...the queen's kept me locked up in a horrible cell for so long...and I only got a small bit of time at the well. I was just...hoping for a better, longer view of the outside world again." Rumpelstiltskin thought for a moment, then smiled, taking her hand in his.

"Ah, I know." Belle looked up at him hopefully. "What if I were to say, disguise you? Make you unrecognizable? Have you go by a different name? Just for a spell." Belle smiled.

"Oh Rumpel I'd love that!" The two smiled, until the once master felt a surge within himself and cleared his throat.

"Uh, I have some urgent business to attend to Belle. Why don't you get a fire going, and I'll be back in a little while with some tea?" Belle smiled up softly at him.

"Alright." she replied. "You promise?" Rumpelstiltskin winced slightly from another surge, but covered it up with a smile. He leaned in close to her face.

"I promise." he whispered, then gently kissed her forehead. With one last smile, he slowly turned and made his way back to the elevator. Stepping inside and smiling at Belle as it rose. Once they were out of sight of each other, Rumpelstiltskin winced and groaned, leaning against the sliding wall for support. He gripped his cane tightly, grinding his teeth as he felt his blood pulsate strenuously. He didn't want Belle to see him, to know what was happening. The price of his power.

When the hidden elevator finally reached the kitchen once again, Rumpelstiltskin stumbled out and dashed (to the best of his abilities) to his bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it, then collapsing on his bed, abandoning his cane. He panted heavily, clutching his chest and stomach, feeling the power coursing through his veins, returning to its old home. He let out a grunt of pain, curling into a ball. "She was used to the sight of a beast once..." he thought, then groaned loudly, almost to the point if screaming, through a particularly painful surge in his stomach. "And she'll do it again." he muttered. He laid there, for how long he didn't know, groaning, tossing, turning, clutching himself, sometimes screaming from the pain. But he made sure it wasn't loud enough for his love to hear.

She was to do no more than make herself comfortable. He would worry about the pain, the hardships, anything that made this new phase difficult. She had endured enough; he would take care of her, protect her from now on. He grabbed the bedsheets with one hand, digging his nails into the blanket and curling his other hand into a fist, almost making his palm bleed. He grunted every few seconds, for that was how often the power surged painfully and roiled as it reentered him. His skull began to pound, therefore he abandoned his grip on the blankets to hold his head, eventually switching to holding tightly to his hair, pulling on it slightly. "She can't know." he muttered desperately to himself.

"She can't know." he insisted, tears beginning to dribble down his cheeks. The strain suddenly seemed to disappear, and Rumpelstiltskin felt as though he was soaring. The pain faded away slowly, and in replacement was a feeling of total power. He smiled, still gripping his stomach, slowly sitting up. He chuckled softly, bowing his head and refusing to look in the mirror across from the foot of his bed. He knew what he would see and, frankly, didn't want to. His stomach still felt tight, and he tried to relax and allow it to loosen up.

"Regina..." he muttered. "You can't touch her now." he chuckled a little louder. "Not with me...not like this." He sat panting on his bed for a while longer, trying to ease the tight muscles in his abdomen. Once having done so, he let out a pent up breath, feeling relieved. "Belle is safe." he whispered.

He jumped from a sudden banging at his door, his eyes involuntarily straying to the mirror. He was shocked by what he saw; the clean, modern, 'Mr. Gold' image was still as intact as ever; there was nothing to give away the fact that he was once again the Dark One. He smirked, "Even better than I had hoped." he thought. "No one will even know." A harsh pounding on his door reached his ears.

"Mr. Gold, open up now! I want a good explanation on what you did at that well!" Rumpelstiltskin sighed deeply.

"Well, scratch that for Emma. If she knows, everyone who's important will." he muttered. "But, one can try." He stood and straightened his coat and shirt, smoothed back his hair, retrieved his cane, and then made his way to the front door. Upon opening it, he smiled at Emma's trademark scowl. "You know Miss Emma, I have to admit you have your father's scowl."


End file.
